6/26/11

Not the Way I Pictured It

 One of my wife’s favorite movies is Lost in Yonkers. In it Bella, a sweet, mentally challenged woman who is probably in her late 30s eventually meets someone who she believes is the man of her dreams. She calls a family meeting to share with them her plans to marry Johnny, an usher from the local movie theater.


As she gets everyone to sit in just the right place for the announcement, her impatient and irascible brother, played by Richard Dreyfuss, will have none of it. He insists on standing. Finally, Bella cries out “This is not the way I pictured it.”

How often is life like that for many of us: Not the way we pictured it? I can remember playing tennis in my early 30s and looking at a couple of 70-year-olds on the other court and thinking, what’s great about tennis is I will be able to play in my old age.

But then MS came calling. First, I was walking with a cane and now use a three-wheel scooter. This is not the way I pictured it. That is why in my book, Mind Change, I have Power Thought Number 15 which says:

In all things God works
for your good.

No exceptions and no lapses.
Even in what happened yesterday.
Even in something that caused great pain.
Even in something that dashed your hopes.
All things means all things.
  
Scriptures to study:

Isaiah 49:15-16
Jeremiah 29:11
Romans 8:28
1Peter 4:12ff
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2 comments:

  1. Joy BodziochJune 27, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Yes, Tom. I continue to reflect on how God longs to bless each of us with great joy in his presence, and "all" we have to do is follow that Beatitude road laid out by Jesus. But, since this is a road through pain, we sometimes choose to avoid it altogether, and thereby miss God's blessing at the end! The challenge of our lives is simply to "Trust and Obey" (as the old Hymn goes!)
    Joy Bodzioch, San Francisco

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  2. Dianne Hayes, Daytona Beach FLJuly 10, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    hi Tom,
    I have yet to see the movie. I want to though. Jesus, what a wonderful man to imitate. A man of joy and sorrow, a man full of grace and truth. (john 1:14). My dad was diagnosed with early onset ALS, a degenerative muscle disease. It is very hard to see my Dad go through this, my prayer is that he will truly turn to God as he once did. We will have sadness in this world, but there will also be great times of joy.

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